Blood of the Celestial Dragons
The list of crimes unfolded one by one across the Sky Screen, its golden characters arranged in neat rows. Each one struck the land of Dressrosa like a hammer blow.
[Crime one: Manipulating King Riku into massacring his own people and usurping the throne of Dressrosa]
[Crime two: Using Sugar, the Hobby-Hobby Fruit user, to turn large numbers of innocent civilians into toys and enslave them, while erasing all memories of the victims from the world]
[Crime three: Establishing an illegal underground factory in Dressrosa and trading SMILE Artificial Devil Fruits with Kaido of the Four Emperors]
[Crime four: Using his status as a Celestial Dragon to blackmail the World Government into turning a blind eye to the crimes above]
The first three were shocking enough, but when the fourth appeared, the world's reaction surpassed everyone's expectations.
"Celestial Dragon?"
Those words hit harder than the first three crimes combined.
"Doflamingo is a Celestial Dragon?"
"There's a Celestial Dragon among the Shichibukai?"
"No wonder the World Government indulged him so much. He was one of their own."
At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku's face turned pale.
This was one of the Navy's most closely guarded secrets, known to fewer than five people. Now it had been posted across the sky for the whole world to see.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the soldiers outside are talking. They're asking whether Doflamingo really is a Celestial Dragon."
Vice Admiral Tsuru's voice was steady, but the weight of her words was suffocating.
"Don't respond. The official position is that the livestream's contents cannot be verified."
Sengoku's voice was as dry as sandpaper.
"Is there any point in saying that now?"
Akainu's voice came from behind him, low and burning.
"Earlier, it said Garp would get Ace killed and showed video evidence. Then it said Teach was going to break into Impel Down and gave us a detailed plan. So far, every word this livestream has said has been proven true."
Akainu walked up to Sengoku, and the two men looked each other in the eye.
"Sengoku, how many people in the world do you think will still believe the Navy's official position?"
Sengoku did not answer.
Because he knew Akainu was right.
The livestream had already established absolute credibility with what it had shown before. Whatever it said, the whole world would believe.
The image on the Sky Screen shifted to unfamiliar footage.
It showed the Holy Land Mary Geoise more than thirty years ago. A blond boy wearing the Celestial Dragons' distinctive spacesuit stood on a high balcony, looking down at the civilians beneath him as though they were ants.
A man and a woman stood beside the boy, dressed in equally luxurious clothing.
"Doflamingo, would you like to go see today's slave auction?"
The man asked with a smile.
The boy nodded, an innate arrogance at the corners of his mouth.
This was Doflamingo as a child.
The footage fast-forwarded. His father, Donquixote Homing, made a decision that would change the fate of the family.
He renounced his status as a Celestial Dragon and took his wife and two sons into the world of ordinary people.
"I want to live like an ordinary person."
Homing spoke to his two young sons, his eyes shining with idealism.
But reality was cruel.
When the civilians learned that the family had once been Celestial Dragons, centuries of pent-up hatred erupted in an instant.
They burned Homing's house, chased and beat his wife and children, and drove the family into a garbage heap.
Doflamingo's mother died amid sickness and despair.
Young Doflamingo was tied to a stake, burned with fire, and pelted with stones.
He reached toward the sky and roared.
"I'm a Celestial Dragon! What right do you inferior humans have to treat me like this?"
But no one came to save him.
The Celestial Dragons would not come, because Homing had voluntarily given up his status.
When the footage ended, the tragedy of Doflamingo's childhood had been laid bare before the entire world.
In the streets of Dressrosa, cries of grief and anger mingled, and emotions grew terribly complicated.
"Did he really suffer that much as a child?"
"But when he grew up, he did all that to our King Riku. Does that excuse the evil he committed?"
"What about the people who were turned into toys? Their families still don't remember they ever had loved ones. Who's supposed to bear that pain?"
No one could give an answer.
Above them, the system's voice continued coldly from the Sky Screen.
[Supplementary information: Donquixote Doflamingo's status as a Celestial Dragon was his main leverage in blackmailing the World Government]
[He knows the secret of the National Treasure of the Holy Land Mary Geoise and uses it to threaten the Five Elders into taking no action against him]
The moment those words appeared, the air around the world seemed to freeze.
The Holy Land Mary Geoise.
In the Five Elders' meeting room, five old men who had lived through long years sat around a table. An indescribable sense of oppression filled the air.
The blond elder sat at the head of the table, his fingers slowly tracing the surface before him. The enormous ring on his hand glinted coldly.
"That livestream knows the National Treasure exists."
His voice was quiet, but everyone present heard him clearly.
The elder with the long sword gripped the Famous Sword First Generation Kitetsu in his hand, and its scabbard trembled slightly.
"How much does it know?"
"As things stand, it has only mentioned the National Treasure. It hasn't revealed any details."
The bald elder pressed his palm against the table.
"But what if it continues?"
The five fell silent.
The secret of the National Treasure was one of the foundations that had sustained the World Government's rule for eight hundred years. If it were exposed, the consequences would be unthinkable.
"Deal with Doflamingo first."
The blond elder made his decision.
"He is no longer of any use to us. Send CP0 to Dressrosa to eliminate him."
"What if he resists?"
"He will resist, but that doesn't matter."
The blond elder rose and walked to the window, looking out over the whole of the Holy Land Mary Geoise.
"What matters is eliminating every possible source of a leak before that livestream says any more."
East Blue, Foosha Village.
Lin Qi yawned as he watched the constantly updating stream of data on the system interface, a smile in his eyes.
"Wow, even the Five Elders are reacting. This game's world is enormous."
He picked up his beer can and shook it. Finding it empty, he got up and took another from the refrigerator.
"Doflamingo really is a well-designed character. A tragic childhood, mad ambitions, and a pile of dirty secrets—he was born to be featured in a countdown."
He sat back down at his computer and glanced at the prompt that popped up from the system.
[Pass judgment and determine Doflamingo's punishment?]
"Of course. Where's the climax if I don't?"
Lin Qi bit open the beer can's pull tab, his fingers dancing across the keyboard.
Golden characters lit up once more across the Sky Screen.
[Judgment will now be passed on Donquixote Doflamingo]